Kage
by Snow Tigra
Summary: Chouji and his father have just moved into a new house that has its share of cobwebs and things to fix. What they didn't bargain for is that something already lives there, something that doesn't want to stay in the shadows anymore.
1. Teaser

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe. 

Teaser

There is a story about a boy. This boy was not a boy, but rather a shadow, a being with barely shape and form. Night in and night out the boy would follow his fellow shadows to cover the world and race away as the sun and electrical lights rose back into the sky. He lived a constant life going back and forth, always running from a world he would never see and never could remain in.

One day the boy decided he didn't want to run anymore. Rather then joining his kindred as they escaped from the light, he wandered to the edge. He stood as close to the light as he could and enjoyed the new sensation of warmth that covered him.

Until it began to burn him.

The boy escaped the light quickly, fleeing back into the shadows where he belonged, but once there he discovered an awful truth. Being burned by the light had given him shape and he was no longer able to merge completely with the others of his kind. No longer could he sink into the other shadows and hear their voices. Now he stood alone, always burned from entering the light and yet never able to complete escape it because his own world did not appreciate him turning his back to it.

He remained trapped, between world.

Never to be a boy, and never to be a shadow again.


	2. Chapter 1

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe. 

Chapter 1

It was one of those houses that people talked about all the time. Three stories dwarfed the more modern homes surrounding it, while an actually tower jutted out the back, hinting at times when the fashion was round and curvy rather then thin and straight. Fancy shutters covered the windows and old fashioned steps that would never have been allowed by political correctness led up to the door. Next to the door, haphazardly nailed into the worn and weathered siding, was a stack of mismatched mailboxes, all displaying numbers like dorm rooms, testifying to this place's use as a house of rooms rented to students for the local college, before it had built its new concrete beehive of dorms.

Were it in better shape, he was sure he would have seen it on covers of magazines named after older time periods and found on the waiting room tables of those who could afford to spend more money then was needed. It was a fixer-upper of the best kind, but if there was one thing that Chouji and his father shared, it was a talent for seeing underneath the outside and knowing what could be made of what others called nothing.

Chouji waited for the moving van to pull to the curb, then opened his door and jumped down onto the pavement, giving himself a good look at his new home.

Most children would have whined or complained about the condition of the house, but Chouji was different. All he could think about when he looked at the broken and beaten down Victorian mansion was all the rooms he'd be able to explore as his father turned it into the type of house he'd always wanted: the best bed and breakfast in town.

"So? How does it look?" Chouza asked his son as he rounded the moving van to stand next to him. Chouza was a taller and slightly rounder version of Chouji, his burnt red hair just a little more thick then his son's, easily defeating any ponytail holder it came up against. The wrinkles which had begun to crease his upper cheeks weren't from age in the slightest, but rather from a tendency to always greet the world with a smile, even in the worst of times. Add to that some of the largest, but most caring hands in the world, whose only passion was to cook some of the best food one had ever tasted and Chouji was by far convinced that he had the best father ever. Chouza always smiled in agreement.

"I think you're going to be doing a lot of work on it," Chouji responded in good humor.

"Oh, am I now?"

"Yep, because I'll have homework."

Chouza laughed. "We have an entire summer before you have homework. You'll be helping me." He reached over and ruffled Chouji's hair, which had begun to resemble his own. "So there."

Chouji responded with a small laugh of his own and dug in his own pocket for the keys to the house. Then he was off, moving quickly across the road to open the front door and step inside.

The inside of the house wasn't in much better shape then the outside, in fact one could almost argue it was worse. The hardwood floor had seen far too many hurried feet and different shaped foot rugs all around, resulting in creating almost a patchwork of wear patterns. The stairway that jutted up from the floor as you immediately entered no long had a banister on the side, showing signs of it being knocked off by one student or another on a drunken night out. No doors were present for the coat closet and the walls were a complete other story all together, filled with cracks and nail holes from previous decorations of who knows what. Chouji just stared at the mess before him. Even for him it was hard to see what would become of this place.

"Papa, you sure we shouldn't just knock it down and start over?"

Chouza just laughed again and patted his head. "Help me with the boxes, we'll put them in the living room for now."

"Ok."

"Want some help?"

Chouji looked up from where he stood in the back of the moving van, not recognizing the voice that echoed in after him. Turning he found a taller girl and a slightly shorter boy, both with bright blond hair standing at the opening on the other side. The boy wore what looked like a bright orange jersey from some team Chouji didn't recognize and a pair of black shorts, his hair short and spiky from either not being combed or just plain stubbornness. Meanwhile the girl next to him was the complete opposite, sporting long hair in a ponytail, perfectly combed back and an outfit that was probably piece by piece from some teen magazine that gave tips on how to ace tests without work and catch boys who would rather watch clouds then pay attention to girls.

"Hey! Did you want some help moving the boxes?" The girl's voice had a bit more bite to it as the boy didn't even bother asking again, but instead just climbed into the back of the truck and walked over to Chouji. He smiled and held out his hand.

"Here, I'll take the next one. And don't let her fool you, she'll help too…" The boy leaned in. "Though you can bet she'll complain about the possibility of breaking a nail or getting dust on her clothes-"

"Naruto!"

Naruto giggled and Chouji couldn't help but laugh with him. "I'm Chouji."

"Naruto, and that girl down there is my sister, Ino-pig."

That seemed to be the last straw, because Ino climbed her way into the back of the truck and smacked the back of Naruto's head with a perfectly practiced swing. The two could be nothing else but siblings.

Ino turned her attention to Chouji and her smile strained a bit, as most of the pretty girl's smiles did when they noticed that Chouji was the pudgy kid in the class. He was either cute or fat, and most of the time they just considered him fat. He'd stopped caring a long time ago. "Uhh, hi. We're from across the street, the blue house. We thought we'd come over and help you move in."

"Thanks, that's nice. There's not many boxes left… just the smaller ones."

"So so, seen any ghosts yet?" Naruto asked excitedly as he helped Chouji slide the rest of the boxes closer to the end of the truck so they could be easily unloaded.

"Ghosts?"

"Uh huh! Your house is real old and there's supposed to be really creepy ghosts inside! I've always wanted to see one."

"Naruto!" Ino seemed to have perfected yelling his name as well, sounding just like a tierd mother. "Stop scaring the boy."

Chouji blinked. "Why would I be scared?"

"Well because he's talking about ghosts silly."

Chouji just shrugged. Truth be told he'd never really encountered a ghost before, and if he ever did he could only imagine them to be nice, caring people who stayed behind to watch their families after they'd died. Just like he was sure his mother did. Ghosts didn't seem like something that would actually be scary. But then it was nearly impossible to be scared of anything with his papa around.

"Chouji's cool, he's not afraid of ghosts like you are."

"I never said I was afraid of ghosts Naruto!"

Chouji careful stepped around the two bickering siblings and jumped down from the truck, grabbing one of the boxes.

"Well, it seems you have already made some friends."

Chouji smiled up at his father, handing him two of the boxes left. "They're from across the street, they came over to help us move in."

"Hmm, well then it seems only fair that I should share the cookies I've been baking in the kitchen…"

Naruto's ears seemed to literally perk up as he stopped fighting with his sister and Ino managed another stretched smile, obviously on one diet or another that didn't allow cookies even though she was too polite to say no.

"Papa! You were cooking already? You were supposed to help me with the boxes!" It was an old fight and Chouji wasn't honestly angry. He knew his father loved nothing else in the world more then cooking, and he'd been expecting him to use the stove as soon as he realized it was in cooking order. Still, old habits died hard and he couldn't help but poke at him for the strange addiction to flour and sugar and tastes like you wouldn't believe.

"All right, free food!"

"Naruto!"

Chouji just laughed with Naruto as they followed Chouza into the house. He had a feeling he'd be getting used to that tone of scolding almost as much as Naruto was.

The room Chouji chose ended up being toward the back of the house, down the hall from his Papa's. It wasn't the largest in the house, but he favored the design to the other larger rooms and he really didn't need the extra space. Instead, the room he chose was built with shelves criss-crossing the wall, one space left open for a bed to be fit in perfectly. The design was unique, but it eliminated the need for a bedside table, which Chouji didn't actually have, so it worked well enough.

After getting his bed set up in the middle of the shelves, Chouji stepped over to a specially marked box, carefully pulling away the tape. From inside he pulled out a lamp and a single picture, wrapped in layers of old newspaper and a couple t-shirts for protection. Smiling softly to himself he set both of them on the shelves next to the bed, in just the perfect spot, then began searching for a plug.

The lamp was probably the last thing someone would expect to see in a boy's room, especially not a teenage boy who was already debating about what college classes to look into and what schools would be the best for his interests. The lamp was antique, made of stained glass and worn copper, originally made as a candle holder but somewhere along the way it had been altered to host an electric light. The result was a lamp that really glowed no more then a simple night light, but it still managed to cast colorful stained butterflies across the room.

The lamp had been his mother's favorite. And the day he'd accidentally tripped and knocked it off her shelf, she had only smiled at him and taught him how to super glue the pieces back together so it looked as good as new. She had always been understanding like that.

The other item lifted out of the box was a simple family photo, housed in a frame of misshapen sculpt-ie and smeared paint which, to a five year old, resembled flowers. Looking back from the photograph stood Chouji, his Papa and his mother. Chouji's mother, Shizune, looked nothing like her husband or her son. Instead she was the kind of woman who had been small and quiet, with an equally small and quiet beauty. She'd kept her hair cut close around her face to hide how thin and straight it was, and tended to dress in darker clothes from habits over the years. Yet her eyes and her smile were the brightest thing Chouji had ever seen and they always managed to make her seem like the most colorful person in the world. Especially when she was working in the garden and surrounded by the butterflies she always loved.

Chouji looked sat down on the bed, watching the picture with a small smile on his face. He wished his mother could see the huge house they now lived in. He wished she were alive to see that Papa had kept his promise to save up enough money to start a bed and breakfast before Chouji would head off to college, so the house would never be empty of people and life. And for a moment he even let himself wish that she had not died in the quiet hospital room with machines beeping around her even if she'd said it was time for them to let her go…

The door opened to Chouji's room and he glanced up, banishing the thoughts. He found his father standing there, his eyes roaming over the room. And when his eyes met with the lamp and the picture, a carefully hidden look of sadness flitted across his face and disappeared somewhere behind his smile.

"Looks like you're already moving in. How do you have so much energy after moving boxes all day?"

Chouji responded with a smile as he climbed into his own bed. "It's all papa's cooking."

Chouza gave a soft chuckle and crossed the room, kissing Chouji's cheek. "Sleep well, see you in the morning."

"Night papa."

"Good night Chouji."

The door to the room closed behind him and a pair of eyes watched from the slight ajar closet door as Chouji rolled over and smiled at the old lamp.

"Night, mother."

Then he was snuggled under the covers and sleeping, not even aware he was being watched.


	3. Chapter 2

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Rating: R  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe. 

Chapter 2

Naruto had the best room on the book, he was quite sure of that. Like most kids his age, his room was decorated with the normal boyish things. He had youth sports trophies on the wall from the few basketball teams he'd been in as a younger kid. A framed award for a special quiz competition, along with a framed article about him winning from the local paper showed he wasn't just a sports boy, but smart too. Clothes spilled out of his dresser onto the floor in the normal laziness that was expected of his age, and he even had a card and a picture tucked in his sock drawer of the really sweet girl in class who'd never gotten the courage to speak with him, but instead could only send a silent card and picture.

But all of that was normal and all of that was present in every boy's room probably around the world, in one way or another. Granted most boys didn't have spiked yellow hair and a collection of more sports jerseys then shirts, but that was still pretty normal as far as Naruto was concerned. What he had, that they didn't, was what he'd just finished hanging on his wall.

The special edition, only 100 printed legally and numbered on the back with a stamped certificate, personally signed poster of THE Uchiha Sasuke. It wasn't just a poster. It wasn't just a boy. It was THE poster of THE boy Uchiha Sasuke, who was only starting to travel with his concerts around the country and these posters were the highest commodity his fans could get their hands on, short of stealing a guitar pick or sweaty shirt from a concert showing.

The poster was printed on the best quality paper out there, Naruto was sure, and the embossed stamp on the back proved that his copy wasn't one of those bootlegs he'd seen all over the internet. He'd tapped into his special savings account and nearly emptied it out, for this poster and he couldn't have spent the money better. Nothing could ever match the picture of Sasuke standing, on stage with his black marked guitar and sheer black shirt with the trademarked white and red fan design. Add to that barely decent leather pants that shone in the stage lights and printing quality so superb that it actually looked like the poster was sweating and not just a picture of it, and Naruto was sure he'd be happy for the rest of his life just staring.

Yes, his room was the best in the world, because it held this picture of Uchiha Sasuke.

And now that he had the poster hung up in his room, and had taken the appropriate time to drool and admire it, there was only one thing left to do…

Time to go brag to his sister.

Ino's room, by contrast, was just down the hall from Naruto's and her door was completely boring and undecorated. She always kept her door closed when she was in the room, inheriting the habit from the fact that when Naruto was younger he would always poke his head into his sisters room to see what she was doing, and take quite a delight in her reaction. Naruto really was surprised she'd never spent the money to get a lock on her door, but then that was her silly mistake.

Naruto couldn't resist but rub his hands together as he opened her door and strolled right in like he lived there, not even caring about silly things like privacy and knocking.

"Guess what I got…" he said in a sing-songy voice.

Ino rolled her eyes from where she was sitting on the bed, her hand slid over the receiver end of the phone. "Naruto, I'm busy. Go away." And Naruto could hear Ino's best friend giggle on the other side of the phone.

"I got Saaaaaaa-suuuuu-keeeeeeee." He dragged the word out, looking all proud of himself. Ino never listened to Uchiha Sasuke's music, always opting for the music that rarely had a beat and usually sounded to Naruto like it was just someone talking and absently hitting guitar strings in the background. That wasn't real music. Not like Sasuke's.

Ino completely ignored her brother's proud statement and moved over to her window seat, going back to talking with her friend on the phone. This time it was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes. He knew who she was talking to… that same pink haired girl from class who also had a crush on Sasuke. Hmph, as if Sasuke would ever pick her.

He frowned at the thought and looked around Ino's room at her sparse and boring decorations. Her walls, which you could see almost all of, were a cotton candy faded pink, with clouds sponge marked into the wall so that the walls looked exactly like the name of the color, like spun cotton candy. Every other piece of furniture in her room was a perfectly matched set in perfect order; even her books and moves were alphabetized in perfect order on the shelves. Ino was the picture of perfection in her room, in her parents' eyes, and in her teachers' classroom. She was perfect. Well, except for the fact that sometimes she had the annoying personality of a pig.

Naruto snickered at the thought and jumped to the floor, wandering over to her, completely oblivious again to the fact that she was on the phone.

"Ino, you wanna come with me to help Chouji move in some more?"

"Naruto, go away! I'm on the phone."

Naruto made a face at her and tried again. "You wanna come with? You gonna talk on the phone all day? Is Sakura reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaally that interesting?" As soon as he said that he could hear a distinct annoyed sound from the other end of the phone.

"Naruto! Get out of my room! I'm not going! I have a date!"

"You do not! You don't even have a boyfriend!"

"I do too!" Ino lowered the phone and swung it at her brother, causing him to jump back and laugh as he taunted her a bit more, then hurried from the room with her close behind. She then went back inside and slammed the door on him, but Naruto was ok with that. He'd done his daily bragging and now he could go check on his new friend. Humming he left the house and headed across the street.

(break)

Upon eating breakfast and completely waking up, Chouji found himself once again moving boxes down to the basement, while he father set about taking the appropriate things up to the second floor. Between the two of them, there wasn't too much to move. Or at least, that's how it seemed. Still, every time Chouji moved a box he was sure another replaced it… but at least this way he could keep his dad out of the kitchen and working for a couple hours.

Box after box, moved down into the cellar which they'd both decided would serve as another room people could stay in and the extended pantry in the back with storage, and all Chouji could really think about was what Naruto had said the day before.

Ghosts weren't something that had ever really bothered him as a kid, but then he'd been raised as one of those children who had been spoiled. He'd always had a parent with him and he loved it, and it meant that he was never alone in anything. Ghosts only attacked people who were alone, right? He was sure that's how the stories went, so he'd never really cared about them.

But now, standing in the basement and unpacking a box of canned goods, boxes of noodles and a set of backup plates he began to realize he was actually alone. His father was up on the second floor and he was down in the basement, a whole floor between them along with the darkness of the corner which needed their lightbulbs replaced. The idea of ghosts and creepy things seemed more plausible suddenly, but only a little scary.

Chouji began humming to break up the silence and his thoughts as he moved to another box.

Upon opening it, he found the rest of the plates set which he knew they would use for backup when there were too many guests. These plates were older and in better condition then the current ones they were planning on using, but these plates had also been the first thing Chouza and Chouji's mother had purchased together when they were married. Both father and son has silently agreed they were precious and to be saved for memory's sake.

Chouji's humming broke off as he heard feet at the top of the stairs. "I'm almost done father!" He called back, putting away a couple more plates.

The only response was the basement door quietly closing.

Chouji blinked and set down the plates in his hands, stepping over to the stairs. When he looked up, he did find that the door was closed snugly against its frame, only a sliver of light coming from under it where the carpet failed to meet the wood. Chouza was no where in sight and all Chouji could do was blink.

There was no reason for Chouza to shut the door… unless he wanted to stop working again and start cooking. Which would mean, of course, that Chouji would be stuck with all the unpacking.

Chouji frowned and shook his head. Nope, he wasn't about to let that happen. He loved his father's cooking almost as much as Chouza loved cooking himself, but there was a time for play and there was a time for work. Right now was a time for work and he was going to make sure his father under stood that. Chouji set a determined look on his face and started up the stairs-

And there was suddenly a person standing beside him.

Whatever motivation he had for moving up the stairs snapped out of existence as Chouji turned his head to acknowledge the movement he'd seen out of the corner of his eyes. He couldn't be sure at first, but after a couple blinks he was very sure of what he saw.

In the shadows, near the other corner of the room where the light was no longer working and would need wiring to be fixed, stood the shape of a boy, a little taller then Chouji. His skin was dark and melted into the shapes of clothing which were hard to distinguish, melding into the shadows on the floor. The boy looked half formed, as if he'd been molded practically out of the shadows, but never really completed. His face held eyes that looked strangely familiar, while black hair fell around his shoulders and face. The boy made no move, simply watching Chouji stand there looking back at him.

Ghosts didn't look like boys… did they?

Chouji turned his body more completely, looking at the boy straight on, and still he didn't disappear like an illusion. Instead he just stood there, looking right back at Chouji, almost like a reflection in a mirror or a body of water. The silence stretched between them until Chouji finally smiled a little and raised his hand, giving a small wave.

"I'm Chouji."

The eyes blinked once and the boy's lips moved, slowly mimicking Chouji's words with no sound. Then, suddenly, the boy was gone.

"Chouji? You down there?"

Chouji jumped and turned, looking up the stairs. The door was open now, as if it had never been closed in the first place, and he could hear Naruto's voice from the kitchen. The basement around him seemed even quieter, as if it were holding its breath and waiting for Chouji to leave. He took one last look around for the boy, then hurried up the stairs to meet Naruto.


	4. Chapter 3

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe. 

Chapter 3

It had been a boy, right?

Chouji frowned softly as he turned that thought over in his head for the umpteenth time. How in the world could a boy have appeared in the basement without him being something else that just couldn't possibly exist. Was it a hallucination? Was he imagining things from the stress of moving to a new place?

Ghosts didn't exist right? He knew that was true… so then what had he seen in the basement?

Chouji looked down at his sandwich and tried his best to picture the boy again. The boy had stayed in the shadows and hadn't been completely visible, but yet still was. Chouji remembered he'd been wearing a mismatch of clothing that covered his body but didn't seem to be any piece of clothing in particular. His hair, his skin, his looks, they'd all blended together just like the shadows around him, making any one part of him hard to distinguish from the next. It was almost as if the boy himself were a shadow… but then that was even more strange then wondering if a ghost existed in the house. Maybe if he went downstairs to check again-

"Chouji! You fall asleep?"

Chouji jumped and looked up, only to find Naruto's face less then an inch away, his eyes scrunched up as he leaned across the table and over their food. His face grew red as he watched his friend sit back down with a pseudo annoyed look.

"As I was saying you need to hear his songs! You have no idea how well he can sing! And he looks amazing up their on stage, under the lights!"

"Um… who?"

"Sasuke of course! Haven't you been listening at all?" Naruto's voice took on the whine of a younger sibling whom no one paid attention to and Chouji couldn't help but smile. It was almost cute.

"I'm sure his music is quite good. But we don't have any here, so you'll have to bring some over for us to try out." Chouza's friendly voice came from over near the sink and stove, where he was cleaning the counter, occasionally taking bites from his sandwich. The larger man never seemed to stay still and Chouji knew that his father actually considered it a sort of crime for the chef to stand still in a kitchen, when there was so much that could be done and was worth doing.

"I'm sorry Naruto, I just got distracted." His face was red with embarrassment, he knew it, so he ducked back to looking at the sandwich, his eyes flickering to his father. He waited until Chouza seemed deep into a new recipe that he was deciding to try and perfect beyond what the book said before he leaned forward and whispered behind his hand to Naruto.

"I think I saw something downstairs."

Naruto's eyes widened and he quickly looked toward the basement door, then back at Chouji. "You think you saw or you saw?"

"I… saw. I'm sure I did."

Naruto leaned closer to Chouji, also speaking behind his hand. "I want to see it! Can you show me?"

Chouza looked up at them from Naruto's enthusiastic whisper and the two sunk in their seats giggling a bit nervously until he looked back. Then, as soon as he wasn't looking anymore, they both stuffed the remaining bits of their sandwiches into their mouths and darted down the stairs to the basement, the door shutting harshly behind them. Naruto lead Chouji, nearly stumbling down the stairs as he reached the bottom and came to a stop, looking around.

"Hey! Where are the lights?"

Chouji took the last few stairs and looked around, his eyes scanning the darkness. He reached for the light, but his hand stopped as he remembered how far the boy had been standing in the shadows. Maybe, just maybe, the darkness made a difference. "Just wait Naruto… he showed up in the shadows, maybe he likes it dark."

"Naw, darkness just makes the ghosts easier to see. They don't like or dislike anything, they're dead people. They're just hanging around because they're bored or lost. So! What'd he look like?"

"He looked a little older then us, he was tall… and he had long hair, not like your sister's, but long and it was down like a girl's. And um…" Chouji sat down at the edge of the stairs, trying to remember what else he'd seen. But the more he thought about it, the more what the boy had looked like slipped his mind. It felt like one of those dreams that you immediately start to forget as soon as your feet hit the floor.

"I don't see anything…" Naruto walked around the basement, looking in the shadows and scrunching up his face as he squinted into the darkness. Moments of silence flowed between them until Naruto walked a bit too far, and bumped his leg hard into a table. Then the silence was gone.

"OW!" Naruto jumped a bit, holding his leg, then frowned and kicked the table on purpose in anger, only wincing as his other leg began to hurt. Chouji quickly stood up and turned on the lights.

"You ok?"

"No! The table… it-it... it bit me!"

"Naruto, tables don't bite. They don't have teeth."

"It does! It does! I felt it! Stupid table! Ow!" Naruto winced again as he kicked the table again, just to prove his point. Chouji desperately tried to hide his smile, but he was failing quickly. There was only one thing to do before he burst out laughing and hurt his friend's feelings: Chouji just smiled and helped Naruto up the stairs, completely changing the topic.

"Don't you have one of Sasuke's songs in your walk-man?"

"Huh? OH yeah!"

Chouji was now allowed to smile and laugh all he wanted, since Sasuke had stolen center stage from Naruto's heated beating of the table. It was silly to laugh at it, but Naruto had broken the tension of waiting to see something in the basement and he'd managed to make Chouji feel comfortable again when he hadn't even realized how much seeing that boy had spooked him.

Still, his mind couldn't help but linger on the thought that the table hadn't been there before, had it? He could have sworn he'd pushed that over into the corner and covered it with boxes… so why was it empty now and near the stairs?

"So what is the story then?"

It was a couple hours later and both boys had exhausted listening to the three songs Naruto had burned on his CD from the infamous Sasuke. Chouji had to admit that the songs weren't bad, though it wasn't a CD he would have bought or copied for himself. He just politely smiled and nodded as Naruto spewed out Sasuke's entire history, as told by tabloid magazines and internet fan-based news pages. The conversation was like a semi, large and loud as it drove by, but gone in a flash and soon both had nothing to talk about concerning the singer. The silence filled the room again as Chouji stood up and started to unpack some of his things, Naruto sitting on his bed and swinging his legs as he looked at the new band-aid on one side where the table had scratched him a bit too much.

"You mean about the ghost boy?"

Chouji nodded. "Isn't there a story or something? The haunted house of the neighborhood or such?" Chouji started putting his books on shelves and hanging up clothes.

"Well…" Naruto grinned as he leaned forward on the bed. "This neighborhood is pretty new and there used to be a big warehouse or barn or something in this area. And in that warehouse was the center of a crime ring. You know, mafia, yakuza-type people who were really really bad. They sold drugs and bad stuff, all the stuff people like that do. One night there was this huge police thing and the house caught fire – they say the police were stumped and decided to smoke them out – and everything burned. And lots of the cops saw the shadow of this boy in the window… but no one ever found the body." Naruto stopped and let the story hang in the air, his dramatic voice ending.

"You mean the warehouse."

"Huh?"

Chouji smiled. "You said the house burned… you mean the warehouse." The story couldn't be true, it was just silly and so cliché.

"Oh oh, yeah, of course. I slipped."

"Naruto… that can't be true. There's grass around the house, this isn't an industrial district that used to have warehouses and mob bosses and mad fires set by the police."

"Well it sounded good!" Naruto dropped onto the bed, crossing his arms as he pouted. "Ok, ok fine, it's boring and stupid." His voice took on a mocking tone. "If you look up at the window to this room in the middle of the night when the moon is out you can see a face in the window, looking down at the yard. But that's so booooooring. I hate stupid stories like that. There needs to be action and adventure and shooting and heck I'll even settle for a little angsty romance as long as there's fighting…"

Chouji tuned Naruto out at the words incriminating his room. His room? His room was the haunted room? Chouji turned his head, forgetting to hang up the shirt in his hand, and looked at the window showing the trees and sky outside. There was sunlight coming in now, due to it being only a couple hours after lunch, but in a few more hours it would be dark. There were no clouds so there would be a moon visible tonight. That meant according to Naruto's story that the ghost boy would be visible in his room.

He set the shirt down and looked down in the box of clothes, before glancing around the room. Well, it was decided then, tonight he'd sleep on the couch. He just didn't feel up to sleeping in the same room as a ghost, no matter how nice it was.

Moon light shined into the room, reflecting off the few smooth surfaces scattered around. At first he saw nothing of interest, but then the light shifted and changed colors in front of him. Sitting beside the bed, not turned on tonight, was the small thing made of light and glass. The night before it had been lit up, making multicolored shapes around the room much like the sun did during the day, though not nearly as painful. Tonight the room was empty and the lights were off, and he could get close enough to see what the thing was made of it, and it looked even more interesting now that he could get close.

Where was the boy?

He walked over to the thing made of glass and brushed his hand against it. Touch was always a weird sensation that he never could seem to get used to. It took practice to touch things the right way, and he had to force it, even after all this time. He tried once and the thing shook, moving back on the table. No! He didn't mean to make it fall!

His hands scrambled and he caught the thing, at least padded the fall and nothing broke, instead it slowed through his skin, landing safely on the ground, unharmed. He leaned over it, noticing something metal on the edge… a switch?

He concentrated, flipping the switch, and light burst in his eyes. He jumped back, immediately covering his eyes out of habit and a second later lowered his hands, looking around the room.

The lights were back, multiple colors dancing around him from the flickering light. They were in shapes, almost like animals… butterflies he remembered they were called. And this… was a lamp, wasn't it? He wished he could ask the boy, but no, that wouldn't work.

He sat for a long moment, watching the light around him, light that didn't hurt his eyes or his body because it was too bright. Instead it was just perfect and he even enjoyed looking at it, not feeling the need to hide or duck away.

Sound came from behind him and he stood up, turning to face the darkest corner of the room. For a moment he could see nothing other then the normal room around him. But no sooner had he started looking, then voices began to whisper in his ear. The boy closed his eyes, basking in the soft whispers of their pleading voices. He couldn't understand them any longer, couldn't tell what they were feeling or wanting. Now he could barely hear them, much less see them. All he could do, when the moment arose, was close his eyes and listen to the soft fleeting sounds that would never be any louder.

The boy leaned back against the wall behind him, his arms wrapping around himself as he listened. He could only hear them in the darkest time of the night, the time when he'd originally come out and was never able to go back. The memory hurt; every night it burned him over and over, as if he were in that light again, trembling in fear as the pain flowed through his body. His missed them. He missed their world, what had once been his world. He missed it all.

Eventually the sounds faded, disappearing as the sun began to rise and the darkness slowly began to melt away. The window was open, and he couldn't stand there much longer without burning himself more. Instead he tossed a fleeting glance to the safe and dark closet, where he swore he saw the familiar shapes melting into, before stepped out of the room and moved down.

The place was different now. Boxes lined random walls, with decorations and shelves half covered and pulled out. He knew the two residents were unpacking and he watched when he could to see them interacting. They were so interesting to him, the way they interacted with each other. And the one who'd talked to him…

The one who was currently lying on the couch.

The boy stopped and tilted his head a little, a smile crossing his lips. He could see the boy, curled up with a book and a blanket and a plate on the table holding a half-eaten cookie with more then a few crumbs. Didn't humans sleep in their beds? So why was he on the couch in the bottom room then? That was strange… wasn't it?

He crossed the room and took a seat on the table, watching him rest. The sun would rise soon, chasing him away from his perch. But at least, until then, he could sit and wonder about this boy and why he seemed so interesting and… safe.


	5. Chapter 4

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe. 

Chapter 4

Chouji awoke the next morning with the sun shining in on his face from the window. The room, and house, around him were peacefully silent, only the sunlight interrupting any of his thoughts. He smiled and rolled over, taking a moment to snuggle against the familiar smell of the couch. He basked in the comforting smell of popcorn and enjoyed movies and a small hint of the perfume his mother used to wear. It was just a moment, but already it made the large house seem more like home.

And, of course, the icing on the cake was the fact that breakfast was sitting out for him on the table, complete with a note from his father about taking a quick shopping trip.

"You went to the grocery store," Chouji hummed to himself, laughing softly. It was just like his father to wake up and sneak away, and probably this afternoon he would come home, his arms full of bags and many recipes already in mind to try. He'd probably make some excuse about needing to try things for breakfast to put on a menu for the B&B they were planning. Any excuse to cook. With Chouza it was any excuse to cook.

More so since his mother had died.

Chouji sat up and started eating the breakfast, happy to find it was still warm and it hadn't been long since his father left. Cheese eggs, bacon, and two homemade cinnamon rolls with the best kind of frosting. Well, if nothing else Chouji would never have to deal with the nasty package food that his father considered a plague upon the earth.

While eating his eyes wandered to the window; looking at the curtains as the moved softly from the morning breeze. Had it been a dream? He remembered that somewhere during the night he thought he'd heard someone outside, moving around in the yard. And there'd been a voice, hadn't there? They were saying some type of name, some long name that Chouji didn't recognize and had never heard before. He couldn't remember now, he just remembered that it was a long name. But the quilt had been so warm and the couch so soft, he'd just ignored it and rolled over back to sleep. Though, now that he thought about it in the daylight, that whole idea seemed stupid.

Voices and movement outside one's house in the middle of the night could be dangerous. He shouldn't have rolled over, especially when he was close to an open window on the main floor. Instead, he should have closed the window, or at least looked outside. A voice could be anyone. At worst it could be someone trying to break in.

But that was just stupid.

Chouji raised his fork, addressing the window. "Now that's just silly. Just because you've spent the last couple days thinking about ghosts and creepy stuff doesn't make some silly sound a burglar breaking into the house. You're just being paranoid."

That being said, Chouji felt much better as he needed to himself and set the fork back down. He put the last piece of the roll in his mouth and happily enjoyed the taste as he washed his dishes in the sink and went up the stairs.

"And another thing," this time he addressed the stairway railing. "Just because you've been hearing creepy ghost stories all week doesn't mean that what you saw was an evil ghost. He seemed nice enough and you being scared by him is just plain mean. Just like papa always says, you have to be nice to everyone until they don't earn it anymore. Otherwise there's no reason for them to be nice to you."

That being said, Chouji arrived back in his room and looked at his surroundings. He was confident in his belief that the ghost wasn't bad, he was probably just lonely. After all, he looked lonely. And that in itself was all the more reason to be friendly about it.

But standing in his room and looking around wasn't good enough. He had to make a gesture to the boy in order for him to show up. The boy had made the first move before, now it was Chouji's turn, so he had to do something. He pondered for a moment, then walked over to the window and pulled the shades shut, closing off the sunlight from the room. Walking back over to the door he closed that as well. Then, Chouji took a deep breath, and reached up, turning off the light and filling the room with complete darkness.

(later)

The boy watched from near the closet doors, seeing the comforting darkness filling the room. For a moment he wondered what the other was doing, watching him block out all the light from his room and just stand there. Why would he do such a thing? Didn't humans need the light to see what they were doing? So then why turn off all the lights and not be able to see anything?

"Hello? Um… are you there?"

The boy blinked. No, that wasn't really possible, was it?

"I saw you in the basement… I don't know you're name… but well, I wanted to see you again. Can I?"

The words hung in the air and the boy considered. This was something new, he hadn't expected the boy to try and talk to him. Hadn't his only friend said that no one would do that for him? Hadn't they said that no human would ever care but them? So then why was this boy even doing this?

His eyes flickered to the windows and the very small line of sunlight creeping through. It could be a trap. He could be trying to lure him out and then throw the curtain open and burn him again. The boy didn't want to be burned again.

But then why would this boy want to trap him or hurt him like that? He seemed so nice and friendly and not at all like the other one. True, the boy didn't know many humans, but this one seemed nice and he just couldn't understand why he'd want to hurt him. So he took a chance. He turned and slid through the space in the door, moving out into the room.

At first the human didn't see him, the room was too dark for that. So the boy moved, walking around toward the colored thing which had fallen, waiting to see if he'd be noticed.

"You are here."

The boy stopped and looked at him.

"Um, I'm Chouji. Remember? Do you have a name?"

Chouji. The human had said that before. So he was called Chouji. The boy smiled, it fit him. But he had to shake his head at the question, as his kind didn't have names amongst each other. More often then not his kind combined into one dark being and then scattered when the light came. Simply movements and actions really didn't require names.

"Oh. Well… are you a ghost?"

The boy tilted his head. He didn't know that word, but he could remember the other mentioning it maybe once.

"Ok, not a ghost then. Can you… speak at all?"

The boy shook his head. When the light had hit him, he'd gained touch to a limited extent and some semblance of a human form, but beyond that there still wasn't much he could do. Talking certainly wasn't something he'd learned. Shadows didn't make a sound, and apparently that also applied to shadows which had been burned into another existence.

"Oh, well, that's fine. Well…." Chouji shifted from one foot to another, his eyes roaming the room. He seemed to be trying to think of something, trying to catch his thoughts and words in the air and suddenly the situation felt awkward. The boy frowned and took a step back. He didn't like feeling awkward in situations, it made them unsafe. So he stepped back, moving back for the safety of the closet.

"Wait! I mean, please don't leave. I should be more polite. I meant to introduce you to my family and well… you were here first, so I wanted to ask if it's ok that we stay in your house."

The boy stopped and blinked. This…. This was new.

"My name is Chouji Akamichi. And I wanted to stay in this room, if that's all right."

The boy considered, then decided he didn't mind Chouji staying in this room. He found the human to be rather interesting and he especially liked the lamp on the table. So he nodded.

"And my father. His name is Chouza. He cooks a lot and it always smells and tastes really good."

The boy nodded again, he already knew about the other man in the house and didn't mind him at all.

"So…. I guess I just wanted to make sure it was ok with you that we stay."

Now this was certainly new. The boy wasn't used to being asked permission for anything. He was a shadow and he wasn't part of the human world. He'd wanted to be part of the human world, which was why he'd tried to touch the light. But now… now he felt like he had a small part in the human world.

The boy nodded, then decided on something else and pointed at the lamp. Once he was sure that Chouji was watching him, he moved over to the lamp and tried to touch it, the lamp shaking just a little from the touch.

Chouji smiled and picked it up, setting it back on the table, then he turned it on.

The colored lights filled the darkness and the boy found himself smiling. Quite happy to watch the shapes move around the room quietly.

Meanwhile Chouji just sat and watched him, echoing the boy's smile on his own face.

(later)

The stage lit up, lights flashing and cheers surrounding the stage. Guitars sounded, filling the room with dramatic music as the band stepped out on stage. Sasuke was wearing Naruto's favorite outfit of tight black leather pants that laced up the sides and disappeared into knee high platform black boots. His blue shirt was open and so shiny and clingy it looked wet, which really just made Naruto all that much happier. Sasuke, aside from being the best singer in the world, was also the best dresser in the world. Of that, Naruto was sure.

Behind him, on the bedside table, the phone began ringing, interrupting Naruto's private little worship session. Naruto quickly sat up and grabbed the phone before Ino could answer, hoping it was one of her wacko friends. He needed some entertainment lately.

"Naruto! Naruto!" Chouji didn't even wait for Naruto to answer, he just jumped right in as soon as Naruto picked up the phone.

"Oh good, I thought you were one of her lame-o friends coming over to discuss her invisible boyfriend. She so needs to get a real one." Music began playing from the tv, Sasuke's voice filling the room. Naruto turned it down, reminding himself that he could always rewind the tape and watch it again, which he planned to do for the rest of the day.

"Naruto I saw him, he actually talked to me. Well he didn't really talk to me, but he responded and everything." Chouji spoke at a mile a minute, not even letting Naruto get a word in. He just couldn't keep the news in, it all just spilled out. He finally stopped to take a breath and that's when Naruto got a word in.

"You talked to the ghost?"

"Yeah, he looks like a normal guy and I'm not quite sure if he's really a ghost. Because he was nice and all, and not really scary once I actually tried to talk to him. He didn't talk, but he knows what I was saying because he responded and he actually cool looking, and just really-"

"Boooooooooring." Naruto sighed over the phone, turning over on his stomach and pausing the video he was watching. About the only thing better then watching Sasuke singing was looking at the screen and seeing him frozen in a hot position about ready to sing. "That's not fair, it's a cheat. Ghosts are supposed to be scary and creepy and you know... ghost stuff! They aren't supposed to smile and be cute and make people all bubbly. Boooooring. You should go return him."

Chouji paused at that statement, then when he spoke again Naruto could hear the laugh in his voice. "Naruto, you can't return a ghost. It's not like something you bought at the store that turned out to be broken."

"Yeah, well, you should be able to. Damn! That'd be great wouldn't it? I'd buy a ghost and stick it in my sister's dresser. Then when she wakes up in the morning and pulls out her clothes it'd be like 'boo!' and she'd freak so much. Damn now I wish you could buy and trade ghosts. Hmmm…. Maybe we can train him…"

"Naruto!"

"Oh well, whatever… that's just plain silly."

"I think he's cool. And nice, actually… he smiles a lot."

Naruto rolled his eyes and hit the mute button, watching Sasuke move on stage, dancing around his blond haired guitarist. They moved together, emphasizing the muted music with their bodies as a grin moved over Naruto's face as he imagined himself in the blonde's place. Now that would be great.

Chouji continued talking about the ghost and Naruto gave general responses, tuning him out just enough to be able to enjoy watching the concert video and hear his friend's impressions. Apparently this ghost was a step more friendly then Casper and that much more not interesting. That was all fine and nice for Chouji, because Naruto would have hated it if the guy was scared out of his house, but at the same time friendly ghosts really were no fun. Casper wasn't nearly as interesting as all those other scary movies out there.

Eventually the phone call ended and Naruto rolled over on his bed, watching the concert upside down with the volume at it's appropriate level. Sasuke's amazing voice filled the room and Naruto couldn't keep the grin off his face. That was it… he needed tickets. He needed tickets like the desert needed water. Problem was he couldn't really afford to buy them, much less afford to drive out to wherever Sasuke was performing. He was still a kid to his dad and there was no way he'd be able to convince him.

Still… it couldn't hurt.

Naruto sat up and turned off the TV, plan in his mind already. He walked into the kitchen with purpose and determination, all ready to set his plan in motion. He retrieved the phone number from the fridge for their father's flower shop and picked up the phone.

"-I'm serious Sakura, this is a major deal. I don't like others being around him like that." Plan foiled. Naruto's teenage sister had taken over the phone and Naruto knew she would never give it up, not even on threat of death. Maybe he could disconnect the phone line and hang it all up on her.

"Ino, you're being silly. Besides you barely even see the guy, why are you so worried about him cheating? You two aren't even really dating. You sound more like a stalker the way you talk about watching him and sneaking out to visit him at night."

"I am not a stalker Sakura! He's my boyfriend!"

"Jeeeez! Relax! Calm down. I was just saying how it sounds, not that you are. Do I at least get to meet the guy?"

"Sorry Sakura, out of the question. He doesn't like meeting others."

"But you just said-"

"You can't see him because he's not real!" Naruto yelled into the phone with a big grin on his face. He couldn't resist, he just couldn't. Ino didn't have a real boyfriend. "She's going out with an imaginary friend. Not real, completely fake-"

"Naruto!! Get off the phone!"

Naruto laughs loudly onto the phone, then begins humming on the line, making a general annoyance of himself. It doesn't take long before Ino gets so upset she hangs up and stomps out of her room with the intent to hurt her brother. But Naruto is already hidden up in their father's room, calling him to beg for tickets to the best concert in the world.


	6. Chapter 5

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe.  
Previous chapters: Sorry for the short chapter. More coming soon 

Chapter 5

The night came quickly, the darkness settling around him. The boy waited until the light was completely gone before sliding out of the closet, and moving into the room. Silence was around him and it took him a moment to realize that Chouji was laying in his bed, curled up tightly under the blankets. The boy tilted his head, thinking that was odd… and why wasn't the lamp on?

He moved over toward the bed, his feet not making a sound as he crossed the darkness. He found Chouji laying there, his eyes closed and a piece of folded paper crumpled in his hand. It had writing on it, writing that the boy couldn't really read. And there was something else… something shiny on Chouji's face.

The boy reaches forward, touching one of the lines on Chouji's face, and he could actually feel it. It felt… cold? Wet? He'd never felt that before… what was this?

The boy jumped back, shaking his hand. It wouldn't come off! What was this stuff? Why was he able to touch it and why was it sticking to his hand? He moved quickly, shaking his hand back and forth, near panic crossing his face. He wanted it off! He didn't want anything sticking to his hand!

"Hello?"

The boy stopped, glancing back at the bed. Chouji was sitting up now, sniffling as he wiped his eyes. The boy watched him wipe the lines from under his eyes, leaving small sparkling smears. The boy frowned softly and stepped forward, touching Chouji's cheek again and looking at him in question.

"Oh… yeah… sorry… I was crying." He whipped his face again, sniffling once more. "I didn't mean to bother you, I was just sad."

The boy tilted his head in question and pointed at the folded paper in Chouji's hand.

"I should be happy, it's the first mail we've received in this house. Which is really neat and all, because it means that we do actually live here. But, well… it has my mother's name on it."

Mother. He'd heard that word before. The other one had mentioned it once before, possibly, when they were rambling on about this or that. He hadn't completely listened, so he didn't know what the word meant. But Chouji was crying – was that the right word for the wet stuff? – so it must mean that that person was important. He didn't like seeing Chouji cry. The wet stuff didn't feel right on his fingers, but it looked worse on Chouji's cheeks.

The boy sat down on the bed next to Chouji and reached up, touching his cheek again. It wasn't wet this time, he ended up just smearing it a little more on his face. He watched as Chouji's eyes widened.

"You can touch me? I-I felt that!" His voice was soft, a whisper really. The boy found himself smiling at that and he was soon smiling even more when Chouji smiled back at him and finally started to look happy again.

"Her name was Shizune, she was really nice. The picture on my night stand is of her… oh! And she made the lamp you like so much! Papa loved her a lot, I did too, but she got sick a while ago and died. So now it's just me and papa. This letter was supposed to go to her… I know it's silly, but it made me really sad that the first letter we got had her name on it."

The boy listened to Chouji talk as he looked at the lamp. She must have been nice, this Shizune, to make something so beautiful.

"Do you have a mother and father?"

Mother and father? He didn't hear those words often, but he vaguely understood what they meant. He thought about the other shadows, the mass of conscious thought that obeyed the light and dark without really considering what it meant. He couldn't pinpoint the time he'd come into existence, he could only pinpoint when he'd been burned and taken away from that part of his life. If he'd had a mother… or a father he didn't know. He shook his head.

"Do you… have a family?"

Family? The boy watched Chouji for a moment, playing with that word in his mind. Family? He stood up a second later and moved over to the shadows. Was it his mind or did they pull away from him? Was he betraying them by telling Chouji about where he'd come from? What he was? Or, rather, what he had been? The boy shook his head more to clear his thoughts and pointed to the shadows.

Silence filled the room as Chouji didn't speak and the boy watched the shadows react to the fact that he was pointing at them, betraying their position. He could hear them whispering, their words just out of his reach as they usually were. He wondered if they were whispering about him, what were they thinking?

"You can be a part of our family."

The boy jumped a little at that, turning back to him. But he was a shadow, that didn't make any sense. Only humans could be part of human families.

But didn't he want to be human?

Chouji responded with a simple smile, holding out his hand toward the boy. Minutes passed between the two of them, and yet Chouji's smile never wavered. The boy looked unsure, nervous even, not wanting to be burned again. Still, the thought was nice.

The boy nodded and stepped forward and placed his hand in Chouji's. He could lightly feel Chouji's skin and from the delighted look on the chubby boy's face he was sure that he could feel his hand too. That was nice. The boy smiled a little more and sat down on the bed next to Chouji, swinging his feet a little.

"Do you have a name I can call you? But you can't talk… maybe I should make one up. Like Kage? It means shadow."

The boy smiled even more at that. He remembered the other one giving him a name before, a long one that really made more sense to him. But this, Kage, made much more sense. It was short and easy… like Chouji.

Kage. He liked that.

Chouji spent the next half hour or so telling the boy, Kage, about his family and different cute stories about himself and them when he was younger. School projects, family trips, holidays, Chouji talked about everything he could think of and just enjoyed watching how his new friend reacted. He never realized how many different types of smiles a single person could have. Each smile was new and more vibrant then the rest. The best appeared when Kage tried to laugh and though no sound came out, the expression was just priceless.

Kage. The boy was a shadow, that much Chouji had figured out. He wasn't a boy or a ghost at all, he was a shadow which had somehow obtained human form. He'd never heard of such a thing in any stories to fairy tales or anything like that, but he was sure that's what had happened. Either way, he thought a shadow was better anyway, because now there was absolutely no reason to be afraid of him. Kage was nice, and sweet and even good looking for a shadow. If Kage had been a real boy Chouji had seen at school he was sure he would have been the subject of many quick glances and after class whisperings.

The oddest thing, and biggest clue, as to what this boy was, was how the shadows moved whenever he pointed at them. It was like they were pulling away from him, shunning him for how he looked. That right there had sealed it and that was when Chouji had decided to offer to make Kage part of his family. He wasn't sure yet how he was going to explain it to his father, but he figured he'd worry about that later. Right now he just wanted to forget about the letter and his mother's name and how finding that had really just felt like a harsh stab to his heart.

He finally had to admit that maybe his father wasn't the only one who was hiding from the fact that she was gone.

"Kage? Were the shadows your family?"

He watched the shadow boy nod as they both laid there in bed, facing each other.

"Did you feel bad when you left? When you're away from them?"

The boy nodded again, his smile fading to a sad frown as he glanced over Chouji's shoulder to the shadows behind him.

"That's how I feel," he whispered softly. The look on Kage's face fit perfectly to describe how he felt. Just complete and total loss and helplessness with the current situation. He wanted his mother back, but he knew it was never going to happen; that seemed to be the same way Kage felt about whatever his current situation was. Still, having someone who felt the same and understood felt much better. Chouji found himself scooting closer to Kage, and sliding an arm around him, barely able to feel him, but able to hug him even if he felt like air.

Both of them lay there silently, watching the light from his mother's lamp move slowly around the room. It was peaceful, safe and comfortable. Everything seemed perfect and Chouji slowly began to drift off to sleep.

The peaceful and happy moment was at that moment shattered as three rocks crashed through Chouji's window. Chouji gave a small cry and quickly rolled off the bed, ducking behind it as glass flew through the room. A second later his door flew open and Chouza was in the room, glaring at the mess.

"Chouji?!"

"I'm ok papa." Chouji stood up and brushed himself off, looking around the room. Kage was gone and he was left alone in the room which now had a broken window and a littering of glass across the carpeted floor. In a second both Chouji and Chouza were at the window, watching a figure run away across the yard, dressed in black with blond hair.


	7. Chapter 6

Yes... I'm writing fic again. I know it's been a long time... hopefully people will still enjoy it. 

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe.

Chapter 6

The knocking had to be the most annoying sound in the world, and certainly not a sound that Ino was willing to listen to for more then a minute. She had more important things to do then give into her brother's nagging and pestering remarks. Besides, he had nothing to complain about. She wasn't on the phone, she hadn't stolen his remote, hell she hadn't even hidden any of his oh-so-precious Sasuke cds for the last month. Couldn't the little twerp cut her some slack and…

"Shut up! Stop knocking!!" Ino kicked her own door, making sure it was locked and walked over to her own window, looking outside. She could see the house from her window well enough. There weren't boxes piled anymore, but instead they'd been replaced with tastefully domestic curtains and birdhouses hanging out front. Nothing was moving now in or around the house and for a moment she allowed herself to entertain the thought that maybe, just maybe, they'd packed up and ran off.

After all, who were they to just move into the place she'd called her own private home for the last couple of years now. Who were they to take everything that she'd gained away from her.

"Ino's in trouble!!" Naruto's incessantly annoying voice drifted through the door, followed by his equally annoying laughter.

Ino turned and growled. "That's it!" She grabbed the nearest object to the window, which happened to be a hair brush, and threw it at the door, watching the plastic pieces break apart with a loud impact attempting to sound like a gun shot and mostly failing. "Go away Naruto!!"

The knocking and giggling stopped, for a heaven sent moment, then Ino's world just seemed to drop even more down into hell. There was another knock on the door, but this one was slow and tired.

"Ino, I need you to come downstairs. Now." Her father's bored and tired voice really didn't sound too great. Wonderful, this was all she needed. Ino glared at her faded reflection in the window and also at the house in front of her. This was all their fault. How dare they.

"Coming father." She listened to his foot steps down the stairs, his walk as tired sounding as his voice. The neighbors she could deal with, Naruto she could tolerate, but now her father was involved?

How dare they even consider such a thing.

Ino opened her door with force and walked down the stairs, doing her best to wipe all looks of annoyance off her face. She was, after all, over reacting. Even if they knew what happened there was no way they could peg it on her. She'd been sleeping at the time as far as anyone else knew. That stupid chubby kid had probably just shown up at the door crying like a baby and they'd blown it all out of proportion. She has nothing to worry about for any of this.

Well, least she was sure of that until she stepped into the kitchen. Once in the kitchen door way she found herself confronted by a table with not just three people sitting there, but four. The forth being Chouji's large father, whose face was set with a grim but otherwise unreadable look. Ino resisted the urge to frown as she felt all hopes of getting out of this one slip out the door.

"Ino, sit down. There is something we need to discuss." Inoichi spoke slowly and carefully, sounding every bit as parental as he could, given the fact that his job and children had completely worn him out years ago. Ino didn't argue and took a seat, looking bored and uninterested. She still refused to think she'd done anything wrong.

"Busted!" The word flew from Naruto's mouth in a second as he rocked back and forth in his chair. Ino didn't resist the urge to glare dangerously at him, her glare also catching Chouji for good measure. The chubby boy frowned back, but cringed a little in his chair.

"Ino. Naruto. Enough."

Single syllables wasn't good. Ino dropped her glare but kept her frown. To hell with looking innocent.

"Chouza has brought it to my attention that last night three rocks were thrown at his son's window, creating quite the dangerous accident. Normally I wouldn't even think to peg this on one of my own children, but Naruto also let me know that he saw you sneaking out last night in all black, far past curfew."

"Oh dad you can't be serious! Why would I even do that? I'm a teenage girl, I was sneaking out for a date."

"Liar! You don't have a real boyfriend." Did Naruto honestly feel the need to rub that in every single time it came up? Right now, Ino had no patience for it and she nearly jumped out of her chair to hurt him. Her father's hand stopped her so she was only able to watch her younger brother laugh as he scampered out of the room.

"Ino, this is serious. Now I will be expecting you to pay for that window. Further more, you will be grounded for the next two weeks. That means no phone privileges or television-"

"But dad!" Ino was standing now, a testament to how unfair the whole situation was.

"I mean it Ino. This is not negotiable." The older man's voice sounded tired, but still held the authority required to raise children as a single parent. Ino knew better then to complain now. At this point it would only make things worse and two weeks was bad enough. Still, she wasn't willing to take this punishment sitting down.

"I hate you." Ino turned and focused her eyes right on Chouji, watching him shrink a bit in his seat. "I hate you and I wish you'd never moved in next door!"

"Ino!" Ino's father was standing now and he wasted no time in shooing her to her room and unhooking her phone. The sentence was dealt.

Well… at least all this time in her room, would give Ino plenty of time to figure out how she was going to make sure that chubby kid and his fat father left for good.

Chouji cringed in the chair until Ino left, his fingers digging into the edge of the seat on either side. He didn't look up and didn't say anything as the room grew silent around him and his father. It wasn't that he was particularly sensitive or even upset, he'd just never had that happen before. The hatred in her eyes, the way she glared at them… Chouji felt he'd just lost a friend in the new neighborhood and it wasn't a feeling he liked. He hated it. He hated feeling like the bad guy… after all it was just a window, right? It hardly seemed worth all of this.

A glass of milk appeared on the table in front of him and Chouji blinked, looking up to find his father standing there beside him. He'd been so distracted by his own guilty thoughts he hadn't even noticed him stand up and move. His father was good at that, and Chouji couldn't help but smile now.

"Thanks."

Chouza smiled back at his son and sat back down. "It's not your fault, so don't you dare feel guilty about it."

"I still feel like I lost a friend," Chouji drank the milk slowly, letting the cool taste help him relax.

"Ah. Of course. However, someone who reacts like that, is usually not the best choice for a friend."

Chouji glanced over at his father and slowly nodded. Of course his father was right. As usual. "Umm… dad… about last night."

Chouza nodded to his son, waiting for him to continue.

"We got mail yesterday, I didn't tell you because… well… I wanted to look at it first. So I took it up to my room. But I didn't open it." Chouji frowned and shifted a bit in his seat. "It had mom's name on it."

"… I see." Chouza took a noticeable breath and slowly exhaled, still managing somehow to keep a straight face. "Do you still have it?"

"Up in my room."

"Well then, lets head home and look at that letter and make sure it's not something important."

"Ok."

Chouji walked out of the kitchen and the house, saying good bye to Inoichi, feeling much better about himself. As they walked home he couldn't help but glance at Ino's window, and wasn't surprised to find her glaring at them both angrily. Still, thanks to what his father said, he didn't feel bad about it anymore. Instead, he actually felt sorry for her and for whatever caused her to hate someone that much.

As they walked home, Chouji noticed his father glancing at him once or twice, almost as if he were trying to say something, but no words ever came out. Chouji considered asking, but then decided not to. His father would ask on his own time, as always. Whatever it was, he'd let his father choose when to ask.

Chouza was a strong man, that Chouji knew, but he couldn't help but hang on to the fragile belief that his father never cried or got upset about anything. His father was his strength, so the moments when he was unsure he just let them go. They both seemed to be happier that way.

The light faded and the boy stepped out into the room again. He found Chouji's room darker then normal, the broken window now boarded up with a thick blanket covering whatever light could have snuck through. No more glass lay on the floor and the room was completely silent, save for the soft humming sound of the lamp by his bed, slowly rotating and filling the room with it's many colors.

Kage walked over to Chouji's bed, finding the boy sleeping soundly. He touched his cheek lightly, but found no wetness there, which caused the boy to smile. He didn't like it when Chouji was crying, it wasn't right. He liked it better when the boy smiled.

The boy watched him for a long moment, not doing anything. For a while he thought if he just stood there long enough, Chouji would open his eyes and talk to him, smile at him and just spend time with him. But the minutes went on, and Chouji was still sleeping soundly, not moving and not disturbed from his slumber.

Kage frowned and touched Chouji's cheek again. He wanted him to wake up. He wanted him to talk, to hear his voice, listen to him laugh and watch him smile. He wanted to see the glint in Chouji's eyes when he explained things that just confused the boy. He wanted to… just… do something.

Kage was lonely.

But Chouji wasn't waking up.

The boy watched him for a bit longer, before leaving the room. He stepped into the hallway, his silent feet bringing him through the dark house. He looked into each room, trying to find something, anything of interest, but there was nothing. Rooms, doors, windows, everything was dark and nothing came out into view for him.

Finally he reached Chouza's room, stopping by the door. There was a small desk lamp on, light crossing over only a corner of the room. The boy stood at the door, surveying the room and finally gathered up his courage to step inside. Staying against the wall, away from the lamp, he crossed the room to stop by Chouza's bed.

Chouji's father wasn't lying in the bed, but instead had fallen asleep in the large plush chair he had right next to it. Like Chouji the night before, the boy could see the letter sitting out on the desk and Chouza was curled up, sleeping fitfully while his expression gave a hint to his dreams.

Kage frowned. He didn't like how sad this family actually was. Over the years in watching the humans in this house, he'd seen a lot of different emotions. From happiness to tears, to screaming, to yelling, to laughing… just everything. But he'd never really seen emotions like this since he'd been burned. Maybe it was a side effect of no longer being a complete shadow… maybe being exposed to the light made him more sensitive to other things.

The boy contemplated this, just watching Chouji's father sleep as his own thoughts flowed through his head. He didn't even notice that Chouza's eyes opened somewhere along the line and that the man now sat there, just silently watching him. Kage just didn't notice and didn't care. He just watched the man quietly until the morning started to come in.

Eventually he faded, the sadness in the house infecting him as well. He didn't like being an outsider and hated it even more now.

If he was human he could at least try and make then feel better.

If he was human.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning the kitchen was filled with the smells of breakfast. Chouji woke up smelling the eggs, bacon and fresh from scratch biscuits as if his father were cooking them right next to his bed. Whatever sad thoughts he'd been having the night before melted and faded away in favor of the delicious breakfasts his father made and Chouji found himself nearly jumping out of bed and throwing on his clothes in a hurry, all to make it down stairs before the smell disapated.

He found his father humming as normal, moving with the practiced skill that could be compared with a dancer as he moved between two frying pans, the table and the cupboards preparing all the food. The table was set and the biscuits were cooling on a wooden plate, with bacon crackling over the stove. Chouji jumped into his seat and smiled brightly as he waited for his plate to be filled.

Chouza laughed softly as he saw his son, seeming to appear out of thin air, and filled his plate before attending to his own and turning off the stove. For a while the both of them ate in silence, just enjoying the food. Then Chouza mentioned something strange.

"I think perhaps I was dreaming, but I wanted to make sure. There was a boy in my room last night, Chouji."

Chouji's hand paused as he was picking up a piece of bacon and he looked up at his father in question. "A boy?" Immediately he thought about the shadow boy who'd been appearing in his room lately. Had his father seen him? And when? Chouji resisted the urge to frown, he'd kind of liked the idea that he was the only one who knew. But then that was silly, because there was no reason he couldn't share something like this with his father.

"He's about your height, a little taller. He wears all black, no clothes that I recognized from anywhere. And… well then he disappeared. I'm sorry, I suppose I was dreaming." Chouza went back to eating his food thoughtfully.

"No, he's real."

The two sat quietly for a second as Chouza regarded his son and processed that thought. "What… is he?"

Chouji smiled at his father, not upset anymore. "He's not a ghost papa, he's something else. I think he's a shadow that is part human, or something. He doesn't talk, but he's a real thing… I gave him the name Kage. I know it's kinda silly, but I didn't know what to call him. He's been showing up since the first night we were here, I think. He's really nice. But he's afraid of light, so you shouldn't leave lights on in the house, or it keeps him from moving around. And well… he was here first so we don't have the right to keep him out of rooms since technically I guess the house belongs to him. But I asked him and he dind't mind us being here."

"Well then, I hope he shows up again so I can properly greet him."

The rest of breakfast passed by uneventfully with simple conversation and planning. Chouza had made a long list of the items they'd need for the new house and their bed and breakfast that would be opening in the next month, so he had quite a few stores to run to. Chouji, on the other hand, was quite content to stay at home and promise his father he'd finish with random parts of the house that needed to be cleaned and arranged. Plates were cleaned and put away, with pans soaking in the sink and both were off to their separate tasks.

Chouji cleaned for a good hour or so before he finally decided to take a break. Heading up to his room he made sure all the windows were covered and the lights were turned off, making the room as dark as he could. Then he turned on the small lamp from his mother and sat on the bed waiting.

"Kage? Are you there? I covered the windows so its safe for you to come out… I think. Unless I need to do something else…"

Chouji trailed off as he glanced around the room, wondering if there was anything else he forgot. After a moment he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to smile at the closet door, where the shadow boy stood quietly. Chouji's smile was reflected on the boy's face as he walked over to the bed and silently sat down next to Chouji.

"Sorry I fell asleep so early last night, I was really tierd after everything that happened. Did you miss me?"

The boy nodded, swinging his feet a little.

"Papa said he saw you. I told him about you… I hope that's ok."

The boy nodded again, seeming to be comfortable with that. Chouji guessed that the boy wasn't too keen on being known about by others, but he seemed to trust Chouji and Chouza. Chouji would just have to make sure no one else knew about him or tried to hurt him… especially Ino.

The two boys sat there quietly for a moment, seeming to just enjoy each others presence more then anything else. It didn't seem like any more cleaning would be done that day, but Chouji was ok with that. The cleaning could wait because right now he wanted time with his friend.

Like any teenage girl, Ino loved her room. It was her sanctuary, the place where she kept her most valuable possessions and the place she used to hide from the world, especially when they didn't seem to understand her. Now was especially one of those times, but Ino couldn't keep herself occupied, even in her own little haven.

Being grounded made her room just not worth it.

Her door was closed but she could still hear her brother on the phone, talking to that fat kid across the way, going on about something or another. More then anything, the very sound of Naruto's voice, even if she couldn't understand him over his insensent music, was just eating away at her patience. She couldn't watch tv, she couldn't talk on her phone… effectively all she could do was sit at her window and glare at the house next to them, up at the window she knew was his. How dare they do this to her. What right did they honestly have?!

Ino frowned more to herself, pacing the room as her anger grew. They had no right to essentially lock her in the room that was supposed to be her sanctuary. They had no right to lock her in her own home. And they had no right to take over the house across the street. They knew nothing about it! They knew nothing about him!

Or wait… maybe they did. Maybe that little fat boy did.

That was unacceptable. Complete and totally unacceptable!

Ino moved over to her bed and silently picked up the phone, listening to her brother's voice. She needed to know… she needed to know if they knew. Then she'd decide what to do from there.

"So so so, how's the ghost?"

Chouji laughed on the phone. "Naruto, I told you, he's not a ghost. He's a shadow."

"Booooooooooooooring. It would be more interesting if he was a ghost. A walking, not talking shadow is just boring. Come on I want a real ghost story! I was reading this one the other day about this horrible and huge demon fox – like Godzilla size! – that attacked this village and all the fighting and war that broke out and all the people had these powers they could use to fight it-"

"Naruto! That's just fantasy."

"Hmph. So says you." Naruto dropped back in his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Fantasy's much more interesting then some shadow coming to life in your house."

"Your entire family is obsessed with fantasy." Chouji stuck out his tongue over the phone, even if Naruto couldn't see it. "Aren't you always saying that your sister made up her boyfriend?"

"Yeah! She did! She comes home one day, a couple months ago, claiming that she's got some boyfriend she's calling Shikamaru. Who has a name like Shikamaru anyway? But she and I go to the same school, and there's no such person by that name. And I know Ino isn't going out with some guy from another school, because she's always home and there was no time for her to do that. She's completely and totally lying. Shikamaru's just an imaginary boyfriend she made up because all her girl friends are going out with guys and having normal lives."

Chouji opened his mouth to answer, but something stopped him. Behind Naruto's rambling, for a moment he could have sworn he heard someone else breathing. And then there was a soft click, barely even noticeable.

After the phone call ended, Chouji went back to cleaning up the house. Sleep came slowly that night as he watched the covered window. He was sure Ino had been listening in on the conversation and for some reason, that thought really scared him. 


	9. Chapter 8

Title: Kage  
Author: Snow Tigra  
Pairings: Shikamaru & Chouji, Shikamaru & Ino  
Warnings: Leaning toward horror, but not so much. Inspired by the movie "Unleashed" but bearing almost no similarity to it whatsoever. Alternate Universe. 

Chapter 8

Late that night, Chouji dreamt of his mother. He remembered their old house, the small two bedroom with the small living room and the yard out front that really was so small you couldn't mow it. He pictured her sitting at the kitchen table, the pieces of glass and hot glue gun sitting out as she meretriciously made the glass shade for the old lamp. Butterflies and odd little shapes, rigged to spin slowly and project their shapes on the wall as the light was turned on.

He remembered her long hair, always tied back out of her eyes. When she'd gotten sick she'd always complained about how they cut her hair short, and how it always fell in front of her eyes, forcing her to constantly push it back out of the way.

He remembered her hands, always working on something. She'd loved to cook and around meal time she and Chouza were always dancing around the kitchen, preparing large and delicious meals that Chouji loved. He remembered her enjoying the food too, and he remembered how thin she got when the hospital told her she had to restrict her diet. When they told her she couldn't eat her own and her husband's cooking. He remembered her being little more then a twig when she died.

Chouji remembered her smile, and how it lit up the room just like his father's. He remembered how happy she was, even with the small house and the money troubles they always whispered about when they thought Chouji was sleeping or out of the room. He remembered her delighted eyes when he brought home report cards, class projects and recommendations from teachers. He remembered everything that made her happy.

He remembered her making the lamp again, cutting her fingers on the glass.

He remembered the blood staining the table, soaking into the wood so that it couldn't be washed. He remembered it dripping on to the floor and smearing, long red lines that faded.

Chouji opened his eyes in the darkroom, curled tightly in his thick quilt as he struggled to breathe. The room around him was dark and for a moment he panicked, until he remembered that the light bulb having burnt out in the lamp somewhere in the middle of the night, with a loud pop and he'd been too lazy to replace it.  
All around him the house was dark, and out the edges of the window he could see the sun was still down. But he was awake now and didn't feel like sleeping anymore. Instead, he felt hungry. For a long moment he lay in bed, fighting the urge, but finally his stomach won out and he decided to go search for food.

Chouji untangled himself from the blankets and climbed out of bed, tugging his night shirt straight as he headed down the stairs to the kitchen. He was careful to step on the very sides of the staircase, so the wood wouldn't make sounds and wake up his dad. Silent foot steps and low, quiet breaths brought him to the kitchen where he pondered what to make. Upon opening the fridge he was delighted to find cookie dough that his dad had prepared the night before for baking in the morning.

The perfect midnight snack.

Grabbing himself a spoon he took a large chuck of the cookie dough and put it on a plate, then sat down at the table to enjoy it without his father's disapproving eyes. Of course, his father would notice in the morning, like he always did, but for the moment he was allowed to enjoy his guilty pleasure.

As he ate, Chouji ignored the dream he'd woken up from, not wanting to think about his mother or the strange string of memories that had flowed through his mind. Instead, he imagined that she was upstairs with his father, and that in the morning he'd hear scolding from both of them about the cookie dough, only to be given a plate of cookies as soon as the batch was cooked. Because neither Chouza or Shizune could ever resist having their son sample their culinary works, no matter how much trouble he was in.

It had been perfect. So he just decided, that while he enjoyed the cookie dough, he'd imagine it still was.

Though, perfection it seemed, wasn't willing to stick around for him. As he was enjoying the cookie dough, he heard a small muffled sound from the basement. It unnerved him enough for him to set down his spoon and wander over to the door, opening it very slightly. He paused, holding his breath, as he heard a voice from down the stairs.

"Damnit, I need to talk to you, so you had better appear!"

Chouji frowned, recognizing Ino's voice instantly. What was she doing in his basement? He glanced up the stairs toward his father's room, vaguely considering waking him up, but he didn't think he could make it silently back up the stairs and he didn't want Ino to run away in between. Not to mention that he wanted to know what she was talking about. Chouji decided to move slowly down the stairs, happy in the fact that these ones were concrete and therefore silent, even if they were cold on his feet.

The basement was lit from various small windows, scattered along the ceiling to the yard. Moonlight shown in, giving Chouji plenty of light so he wouldn't trip and fall, yet not enough to be overly noticeable. He moved completely down the stairs and hid on the other side, so Ino wouldn't see him. Ducking out of sight, he couldn't help but stare… as the boy appeared in front of Ino, out of the shadows.

"All right, just what the hell are you doing? Since when did I say you could make friends with that fat boy?! You were supposed to be my boyfriend! I'm the one who gave you the name and everything! I'm the one who didn't run away from you! How dare you turn around and do that to me!" Ino's voice was hushed, to not wake anyone up, but it was still very apparent how angry she was.

The boy didn't seem phased at all, as he frowned back at her in his silence. A couple times Chouji noticed him clenching his fists in anger, but otherwise he didn't show much of a reaction. Once Ino was done yelling, the boy shook his head and stepped back from her, making a show that he was leaving her and not staying around. Chouji was pretty sure that meant he wasn't happy with what she was saying.

"Don't you even dare walk away from me to him! Shikamaru!!"

Chouji blinked and covered his mouth to keep from making a sound. Shikamaru? Wasn't that supposed to be the name of Ino's imaginary boyfriend, according to Naruto?

Suddenly it all made sense to him. Her anger, her rage and just pure hatred of Chouji could easily be summed up and explained. Ino knew about Kage… she'd named him Shikamaru and she'd claimed him as hers. That also explained why she was so upset when Chouji and his father moved into the house. They'd taken the boy away from her, completely unknowingly.

Chouji moved to stand up, ready to say something to stop Ino's anger from being directed at the boy, but he second guessed himself when he saw her pull out a lighter and flip it on. The small pin of light dramatically changed the darkness in the room and Chouji watched as Kage stumbled backward, quickly moving away from the fire, shaking his hand that it had been close to.

Kage wasn't just afraid of the light. It hurt him! And Ino was planning to do just that, because she moved forward, swinging the lighter in front of her, and purposely backing the boy into a corner.

"Ino! Stop it!" Chouji wasn't second guessing himself anymore, instead he quickly climbed over the stairs and stumbled toward her as quickly as he could to catch her hand. Ino, for her part, was completely surprised and completely dropped the zippo lighter to the concrete floor as she gave a small cry from burning her own fingers. Turning around to react to Chouji, she shoved him back into a pile of empty boxes, causing them to fall all over the room.

The next thing allowed little time to react. Chouji landed hard on the concrete floor, scraping his hand enough for it to bleed. The boxes around him rolled, making a loud crushing and moving sound as they spread out. One of the boxes must have landed next to the lighter, because the next thing Chouji knew the three boxes between him and Ino were burning brightly, lighting up the room around them. Chouji kicked them away out of reflex as he scrambled to his feet, looking for a path out of the basement. But everywhere he looked fire was popping up and smoke was clogging the air. He could only imagine that the door to the basement door had slid shut somewhere along the line, blocking the air in. That meant the basement was going to get smoky fast. And the fire was getting bigger, the room growing brighter-

Chouji stopped and turned quickly, looking over to where Kage/Shikamaru had been. The fire was creating light and that meant it was hurting him! Chouji could see him cowering in the corner, hugging himself tightly as the light seemed to be drawn toward him. His normally black skin was puckering and turning red, seeming to curl like paper slowly burning away. Chouji could see the boy was scared and shaking, obviously in pain.

Then another box tumbled from the fire breaking down its shape, rolling toward the boy. The flames actually touched him this time and Chouji stared in horror as the boy let out a scream of pain.

The air seemed to shatter around them, and suddenly the shadows were moving. Darkness darted out from the wall, diving into the flames like water, trying to put them out. The flames danced around the darkness, and more screams filled the air, as if others were burning as well. Chouji curled up in the corner, covering his ears as he watched Ino standing in the center of the flames, the shadows wrapping tightly around her.

One by one the flames hissed out, water coming in through the windows and the door, yelling and lights filling around him. Chouji's mind took a full minute to realize the shape coming toward him wasn't a shadow, but rather a fireman, yelling in a muffled voice to see if he was ok.

The flames were gone now and Chouji couldn't see anything, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness. As the fireman lifted him and carried him out, he looked back into the basement for something… anything.

But Chouji was the only one left in the basement.


	10. Chapter 9 The End

Chapter 9

Police and fire truck lights of red, white and blue flashed across their front yard, illuminating the night in splashes of color that quickly faded away, only to reappear again. The whining of the alarms had long since dulled in Chouji's ears and he found himself feeling numb as the kind nurse with the short pinkish blond hair checked his hands and arms for burns and other injuries. Before he knew it the burn on his arm was patched up, and he was drinking warm, but tasteless, hot cocoa form the ambulance while the uniformed officials moved in and out of the house before him. 

Across the yard, next door, Naruto and his father stood at the windows, watching the spectacle. Chouji knew that Inoichi had to be holding Naruto back, to keep the blond boy from rushing out and joining in the 'excitement' of the incident. He couldn't see Ino in any of the windows. 

And they hadn't brought her out of the house either.

Chouji frowned at the half full cup of warm chalk tasting cocoa. Of course he wouldn't see Ino in any of the windows and he wouldn't see them carrying her out. He'd seen the shadows come out and attack her, swallowing her up into nothing as they defended their own. He'd heard her scream and he'd seen her seemingly snap out of existence. She was gone. As weird and as odd as it seemed, she was gone. 

How was that going to be explained to Naruto and Inoichi? He couldn't tell them what he'd seen. Well, he might be able to tell Naruto, but all he could imagine was Naruto getting upset with him and breaking off the friendship right there. Telling Inoichi what happened would probably just bring a tired look and persistent insistence on the truth, rather then this 'lie'. 

But he knew for a fact he couldn't stay silent about what he'd seen. 

Commotion came from the front door, interrupting Chouji's thoughts as yelling moved across the lawn. Seconds later a stretcher was pulled out from the ambulance next to him and rushed into the house, coming out a moment later with someone wrapped in a white sheet, officials crowding around them and yelling at each other.

Chouji jumped down from where he sat and quickly rushed over, ignoring the people around him and nurse's protests for him to stay out of the way. Weaving around a fireman and an officer he stopped next to the stretcher and his body just seemed to freeze from what he saw.

Lying in front of him, on the stretcher, was the boy made of shadows. But he wasn't shadows anymore. Instead he looked as human as anyone else, with burns covering his skin, but not to a horrible degree. Now he had black hair, burned close to his face, and his skin was pale in spots where it hadn't been burned, as if he were a normal boy who stayed inside all the time. And when he opened his eyes and looked at Chouji quietly, his eyes were a fractured green, with patches of darkness still showing, almost resembling a cat's eyes and their extreme sensitivity to light.

Chouji couldn't breathe.

"Is he all right?" Warm hands rested on Chouji's shoulders, helping him become grounded again and making the light feeling in his head go away. His father had asked the question, sounding not surprised at all at the boy's appearance. Chouji managed to close his mouth and stop looking surprised, as he watched them fit a breathing mask over the boy's mouth, giving him fresh oxygen.

"He doesn't look too badly injured." The pink haired nurse was beside them in seconds to answer that question. "Of course we want to take him in to get the burns looked at, but from what I can see now there's a couple 2nd degree, but nothing too bad. Is he family?"

Chouza opened his mouth to answer, but Chouji cut in. "He's my cousin. Shikamaru… he was staying with us for a couple weeks." 

The boy on the stretcher blinked at Chouji, at the mention of that name and reached out toward him. Chouji stepped forward and caught the pale hand, giving the boy a comforting smile. 

"Can I ride with him to the hospital? He's from out of town and I don't want him to get scared."

The nurse smiled at Chouji. "Of course you can, since we need to make sure your burns are taken care of too. Just come this way."

Chouji smiled up at his dad and followed the stretcher to the ambulance, never letting go of Shikamaru's hand. As the stretcher was loaded up in the back, he climbed up with it, making sure the boy could always see him. At first the boy squeezed his hand tightly, while the ambulance went off but soon his grip loosened and he soon began brushing his fingers against Chouji's skin, seeming to be fascinated with the fact that he could touch him.

Chouji leaned forward, speaking softly in his ear. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you. I promise."

Shikamaru looked at him quietly, for a long moment. Then he smiled and nodded, looking completely relaxed and content.

(Epilogue)

It was that incessant music again. Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke. Always Sasuke. Sasuke's music playing from speakers. Sasuke's face plastered on the wall. Sasuke's deep voice coming up to announce the actions of the computer. Sasuke's most annoying tune as the ringtone on the phone.

This hell could only be one place in the world, and when Ino opened her eyes, she could only stare with complete hatred at her brother's room and all the paraphernalia of the black haired pop star. Her brother wasn't lying in bed, and she was standing alone in his room, in completely darkness… but she couldn't remember why.

From the window she could see lights flashing in bright colors, obviously from police cars. Ducking back into the corner of the room, she quickly made sure she hadn't been near the window enough to be seen. She couldn't remember clearly, but she'd remembered the house next to them burning. Served them right if their wonderful place was burning down now. That's exactly what they deserved for taking it all away from her.

She waited while the lights died down and the noise soon faded, leaving the silence from the night. Somewhere in the house she head the front door close and her father and brother talking as they passed to the living room. No doubt they were planning to watch the news for updates, as they weren't family and weren't allowed to go to the hospital. Silence passed again, and Ino waited until she heard the tv click on quietly, before moving. 

As soon as she was sure it was safe, she stepped out from the corner and moved toward the door.

It was right at that moment that she realized she wasn't alone in the room. Somewhere along the line she'd felt eyes on her, but had ignored it to make sure she wasn't caught, but now the feeling was stronger and as she walked to the door, she noticed the eyes on the poster next to her moving, following her steps.

Ino paused, turning her head to face the poster. It was simply laminated printed paper, and it couldn't be looking back at her. She was obviously paranoid and not thinking straight.

But the picture did move. The eyes did follow her. And the face did slide out of the poster, slinking to step out and land on the ground. 

In the blink of an eye Ino was surrounded by vaguely human shapes, all resembling the outlines of human bodies, but lacking eyes, mouths, and any detailed features. She could make out heads and indents where eyes would be, but nothing else. And the things moved around fluidly, like water, surrounding her.

Whispered filled the air, all just a step from understandable words. She could hear them, but she couldn't understand a word being said, even though the volume was rising, the sound loud enough to crawl over her skin.

Ino suddenly remembered the basement.

She remembered the fire, and she remembered the boy.

She remembered his scream as the fire touched him.

She remembered his skin burning like paper.

She remembered the air closing around all of them.

She remembered the shadows coming to life and surrounding her.

She remembered them yelling in her ear and burning her skin.

She remembered screaming as the darkness covered her.

Ino screamed again, the shadows diving at her.

It's just too bad, that shadows can't make sounds. 


End file.
